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posted by martyb on Thursday October 28 2021, @09:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the why-buy-one-when-you-can-buy-two-at-twice-the-price? dept.

NASA wants to buy SLS rockets at half price, fly them into the 2050s

NASA has asked the US aerospace industry how it would go about "maximizing the long-term efficiency and sustainability" of the Space Launch System rocket and its associated ground systems.

[...] In its request NASA says it would like to fly the SLS rocket for "30 years or more" as a national capability. Moreover, the agency wants the rocket to become a "sustainable and affordable system for moving humans and large cargo payloads to cislunar and deep-space destinations."

[...] Among the rocket's chief architects was then-Florida Senator Bill Nelson, who steered billions of dollars to Kennedy Space Center in his home state for upgraded ground systems equipment to support the rocket. Back in 2011, he proudly said the rocket would be delivered on time and on budget.

"This rocket is coming in at the cost of... not only what we estimated in the NASA Authorization act, but less," Nelson said at the time. "The cost of the rocket over a five- to six-year period in the NASA authorization bill was to be no more than $11.5 billion. This costs $10 billion for the rocket." Later, he went further, saying, "If we can't do a rocket for $11.5 billion, we ought to close up shop."

After more than 10 years, and more than $30 billion spent on the rocket and its ground systems, NASA has not closed up shop. Rather, Nelson has ascended to become the space agency's administrator.

Previously:


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday October 29 2021, @03:11PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 29 2021, @03:11PM (#1191705) Journal

    SLS should fly sometime next year.

    For how many years have we heard that?

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday October 29 2021, @03:21PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday October 29 2021, @03:21PM (#1191707) Journal

    When I was compiling that list of previous articles, I found one of my comments saying they should be finally flying SLS in 2021 and I cringed a little.

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